Monday, 2 March 2015

Take one dramatic wedding venue, add a DIY bride bursting with wedding ideas, and a pretty village church, and you've created wedding blogger's heaven. Hannah and Ben celebrated their big day at the gorgeous Hill Place in Hampshire, and got seriously creative with their wedding day, adding more DIY details than you can shake a stick at! Just wait for the reception details in Part 2, it's a DIY bride's dream. Hannah chose a country garden wedding theme with pretty pastels as her colour palette, which she carried throughout her wedding details, including bridesmaids dresses, bouquet and bunting. Her pretty up-do is stunning, and I love her traditional Princess-cut wedding gown, complete with the train she thought she didn't want! Other fun wedding ideas include the vintage car and camper van, and the sweet-smelling dried lavender decorating the church. Stunning pictures published with thanks to Greg Thurtle from TP Photography. Don't miss the reception details, coming soon later today.

My husband Ben and I got married on 30th July 2011 at Hill Place in Swanmore, a beautiful Georgian Country Villa set in 20 acres of beautiful park land.We chose the venue because of the location and because it was so beautiful. Ben and I both grew up within a mile of Hill Place and the area has special significance to us both. We met at Swanmore Secondary School when we were 11, and we spent our teenage year s in the area. When we saw Hill Place, we immediately fell in love with it. It was so beautiful and Will and Rebecca Dobson (the owners) were two of the nicest people we have met! They were so laid back and accommodating, we knew that this was the venue for us.

My dress was Mori Lee by Madeline Gardner. It was called 'Simone'. I was adamant that I wanted a plain, fitted dress, but the shop assistant at Brides of Southampton thought that this dress would look great and encourage me to try it on. As soon as I stepped into it, I fell in love with it. It was sparkly, with a huge train, and it was everything I had thought I didn't want from my wedding dress!

My veil was also from Brides, it was scalloped edged with drop AB crystals. My shoes were from Rainbow Club and my necklace was my Great Nan’s. My Granny gave it to me when I was 16, and it was my something old and my something blue!

I had five bridesmaids, they wore knee length, chiffon and halter neck dresses in dusky pink and sapphire blue. They were also from Brides of Southampton. I originally said that they could wear anything pink or blue, and took them to the shop to try on whatever they fancied...they all loved the same dress!

I also had a 'best man', my dear friend Chris was also part of my bridal party, he walked down the aisle behind me with the other girls, and did a brilliant job of keeping everyone in check throughout the day. He wore a black suit and matching sapphire blue tie.

Ben got his grey tail suit from Moss Bros. Again, he thought he wanted something vintage and non-traditional, so we spent many weekends in Brighton trying to find a brown waist coat and matching trousers. However, as soon as he tried on his traditional suit at Moss Bros, he knew it was the right decision.

We chose a country garden wedding theme, so I chose a bouquet of garden flowers such as stocks and daisies, plus a large ivory rose in the centre. My bridesmaids had similar bouquets without the rose. Our florist was Hazel's in Bishops Waltham. They were so friendly and creative, and it was lovely to use a local florist.

Our wedding photographer was Greg Thurtle from TP Photography. Ben is a photographer and knows Greg through a mutual friend. He was the perfect choice to capture our day. We had a great engagement shoot before the wedding to determine the style of photography we liked, and then Greg just got on with it!

Greg was brilliant and captured some amazing candid shots. Looking through the photos, they are all so personal and encapsulate the day perfectly.

Updated daily & brimming with wedding ideas and inspiration, Before the Big Day is the best wedding blog for couples looking to make their big day stand out from the crowd. With 100's of real weddings, fantastic wedding theme ideas, unique DIY wedding projects & all the hottest trends, it’s the best UK wedding blog for the inspired bride.